Gourmet for Life Abruptly Shutters Doors

Gourmet for Life, a South Florida-based diet meal plan company with locations in Deerfield Beach and Boca Raton, has abruptly shut its doors. The company was operating up until Friday, when it suddenly closed, leaving customers without their services.

A call to Gourmet's toll-free number yields the cryptic message, "The company is experiencing several challenges. We are working to resolve them. We will keep you informed of our progress.Thank you."

Clean Plate Charlie reached a dietitian listed on the company's website, Cathy Clark-Reyes. She said she hasn't been associated with the meal-plan company for several years.

Kathleen Berzon, PR director for the Fresh Diet, a competitive meal plan company, told Clean Plate Charlie that she learned of the closing when a GFL employee called her looking for employment. He said he was getting ready to go to work on Sunday when he was called and told not to bother. Berzon also said that she offered for her company to step in and help GFL by taking over the existing client base and received a text by a GFL official stating that "he has no interest in giving or selling his client list. He feels it's pointless and his customers are soured now anyway."

Gourmet for Life's programs range from $34.75 for a week of breakfasts delivered to your door to the premiere plan, in which customers would receive three meals and two snacks daily for 84 days for a whopping $2,515.80. This means that if Gourmet for Life closes permanently, some clients could be bilked out of thousands of dollars.

Laine Doss is the food and spirits editor for Miami New Times, covering the restaurant and bar scene in South Florida. She has been featured on Cooking Channel’s Eat Street and Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race. Doss won an Alternative Weekly award for her feature on what it’s like to wait tables. In a previous life, she appeared off-Broadway and shook many a cocktail as a bartender at venues in South Florida and New York City. When she’s not writing, you can find Doss running some marathon then celebrating at the nearest watering hole.